This groundbreaking study of the Vikings establishes the facts behind their rise to prominence, and cuts through the myths about their military and seafaring skills, fearsome reputation, and dramatic exploits. A former warfare analyst for the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, Paddy Griffith applies modern military thinking to the Viking art of war and examines their tactics, seamanship, mobility, strategy, and how they exploited victories and dealt with defeats. He describes how they established colonies in hostile territory and defeated a diverse array of enemies, including the Anglo-Saxons, the Franks, the Volga Bulgars, and the wild tribes of Ireland during three centuries of conquest.